Washbench



March 8,1927. 1,620,418

J. R. WIARDA WASHBENCH Filed April '2, 1926 INVENTOR.

Jerlyji. Wanda;

BY; v

A TTORN E Y.

Patented Mar. 8, 1927.

UNITED STATES" JERRY R. WIARDA, or GOOPERSViLLE, MICHIGAN.

Applicationfiled' April 7, 1926. Serial No. 100,346.

This invention relates to a foldable Wash bench designed primarily for supporting tubs and wringers during a clothes washing or wringing operation, but it is to be understood that a foldable bench, in accordance with this invention, can be employed for any purposes for which it is found'applicaible, and the invention has forits object to provide, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, a bench of the class referred to including meansfor securely looking it in an extended position to prevent any possibility ofthe accidental collapsing or folding up thereof, and further whereby the weight of the article or articles supported upon the bench will tend to maintain said means in locking p0- sition;

A further obj ect'of the invention is to provide, in a manner as-hereinafter set forth, a fold'able bench capable of' being conveniently extended and folded when desired and further automatically locked in extended position' and maintained in such'position until manually released. Y

Furtherobjects' of the invention are to provide, in a manner 'as hereinafter set forth, a foldable washbench which is simple in its construction andarrangement, strong, durable, capable of being folded compactly, conveniently extended, thoroughly eflicient in its use, occupying a small space when folded, and inexpensiveto manufacture.

With the foregoing and other-objects in view the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter more specifically de scribed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein is shown an embodiment of the invention, but it is to be understood I Figure 4 is a section on line Figure 5 is a section on line 5'5', Figure 1.

A foldable'bench, in accordance with this invention, comprises a skeleton body poi"- tlon, referred to generally by the reference character 1 and which protides'a support for the tubs or wringers or'other articles" which are to be supported by the bench. The body portion 1 consists" of "a series of lengthwise parallel, spaced bars 2, 3, 4 and'5 mounted on edge. 7 like width, thickness and' length. 'The'ends of said bars are arranged in alignmentwith respect to each other "and further the bars are equally spaced with respect to each other. Each bar, at a point adjacent one end is Each of saidbars is or.

formed with a horizontal opening 6 and ata has the end terminal portions thereof pro jecting outwardly from the bars 2 and '5', as indicated at 10, 11, respectively, to provide pivots for a purpose to be presently re ferred to. Extending through the aligning openings 7, as well as being suitably secured to the bars is a connecting rod 12, which has the end ternnnal portions thereof project outwardly from the bar-s2 andb as"i'1'1d'icated at 13, 14, respectively, and which provide pivots for a purpose to be presently referred to. Extending througlithe aligning openings'8, as Well as being suitably secured to thefbars, and further flushed With the outer sides of the bars 2, 5, is a connecting rod 15. The rods 9, 12 and 15 not only con nect the bars together, but further main: tain them in spaced relation with respect to each other.

Mounted on the pivots 10, 1'1, 13 and. 14 are respectively"supporting legs 17, 16, 19 and 18 for the body portion 1. "The sup porting legs are *foldable in a direction to Ward the body portion 1 when" the bench is length.

folded and are positioned to extend in parallelism with respect to the bars 2 and 5. The position of the supporting legs, when the bench is folded, is as shown in Figure 3. The legs 16 and 17 are connected together in proximity to the upper ends thereof by a flat brace member and further are connected together, at a point above the lower end thereof, by a flat cross bar 21. hen the legs 16 and 17 are extended to a perpendicular position the brace member 20 acts as a support for the bars of the body portion. See Figure 1. The supporting legs 18 and 19 are connected together, at a point below the tops thereof, by a flat brace member 22 and at a point above the bottom thereof by a flat cross bar 23. Then the supporting legs 18 and 19 are extended to a perpendicular position the brace member 22 supports the bars of the body portion 1, see Figure 1. I-Ioldfast devices 21 are employed for securing the brace members to the outer edges of the supporting legs.

Secured to the inner face of the cross bar 21 at one side of its vertical median and positioned between the latter and the leg 16is an L-shaped bracket, having its longitudinal arm, which is indicated at 25, disposed parallel to the longitudinal median of the bench. Secured to the inner face of the cross bar 23, at one side of its transverse median and between the latter and the leg 19 is an L.- shaped bracket 26, having its longitudinal arm, which is indicated at 27, disposed parallel to the longitudinal median of the bench. The brackets 24 and 26 are oppositely disposed with respect to each other whereby the arm 25 will be on one side of the longitudinal median of the bench and the arm 26 on the other side thereof. The bench includes a pair of extendibl and foldable brace elements for the purpose of maintaining the bench in an extended position and the said elements are referred to generally by the reference characters 28, 29. The element 28 is formed of two sections 30, 31 and each of which is formed from a bar of appropriate length. The element 29 is formed of two sections 32, 33 and each of which consists of a bar of appropriate The section has its upper end pivotally connected, as at 34 to the bar 3 at a point adjacent the rod 15. The section 31 has its lower end pivotally connected as at 35 to the arm or leg 25 of the bracket 2%. The section 32 has its upper end pivotally connected as at 36 to the bar 33, at a point adjacent the rod 15 and the section 33 has its lower end pivotally connected as at 37 to the leg or arm 27 of the bracket 26. The lower end of the section 30 is pivotally connected to the upper terminal portion of the section 31, as at 38, and said pivot 38 is positioned a greater distance from the upper terminal of the section 31 than it is from the lower terminal of the section 30. The section 32 is connected to the section 33 by a pivot 39 and which is arranged in a similar manner as the pivot 38 with respect to the sections 30 and 31.

The top edge of the section 30, above the pivot 38, is provided with a notch 10 and the section 31 has secured therewith, in proximity to its upper terminal, an inverted L- sha Jed latch 11 adaited to enga e in the notch 4.0 to prevent the collapsing of the element 28 when the bench is extended and support tubs or other articles. The section 32 at a point above the pivot 39 has its top edge formed with a notch 1-2 and said section 33 has secured therewith, in proximity to its upper terminal, an inverted L-shaped latch 43 adapted to engage in the notch 42 to prevent the element 29 from collapsing when the bench is extended and supporting tubs or other articles. The weight upon the body portion 1 will tend to maintain the latches in position to prevent any possibility of the sectional elements 28, 29 from collapsing.

When the bench is folded, the brace members 20 and 22 and cross bars 21, and 23 are positioned against the lower edges of the bars of the body portion 1 and the sections of the elements 28, 29 fold like a jack knife and when the bench is folded are positioned between the bars 3 and 4. As before stated when the bench is folded, the supporting legs are arranged in parallelism with respect to the outer faces of the bars 2 and 5. Further when the bench is folded the sections 33 and 31 of the elements 28 and 29, respectively, extend upon the brace members 20 and 22, see Figure 3. When the elements 28 and 29 are extended, they not only act as braces for the supporting legs, but also for the body portion 1 and when extended are locked, if on a dead center. The notches facilitate the folding of the elements 28 and 29, as the operator can readily grip the upper ends of the latches 1-1 and 413 to break the joint and then the supporting legs can be moved inwardly until the brace members abut against the bars of the body portion and the elements of the bench will then be in the posi tion as shown in Figure 3.

It is thought that the many advantages of a foldable wash bench, in accordance with this invention, can be readily understood, and although the preferred embodiment of the invention is as illustrated and described, yet it is to be understood that changes in the details of construction can be had which will fall within the scope of the invention as claimed.

WVhat I claim is A foldable bench comprising a series of horizontally disposed spaced parallel supporting bars, a transverse connecting member positioned at the vertical median of said bars, a pair of connecting rods extending through and each positioned adjacent to one end of said bars, each rod projecting laterally from the outer bars of the series to provide a pair of pivots, pairs of normally vertically disposed supporting legs, the legs of each pair mounted at their upper ends upon a pair of pivots, normally inclined oppositely disposed foldable brace elements, means for pivotally connecting the upper end of one of said brace elements to an intermediate bar of said series in proximity to one side of said member and the upper end of the other of said brace elements to another intermediate bar of said series in proximity to the other side of said member, a transversely extending cross bar secured against the outer side edge of each pair of supporting legs near the lower ends thereof for connecting them together, and means for pivotally connecting the lower ends or" said brace elements to said cross bars.

In testimony whereof, I afliX my signature hereto.

JERRY R. VVIARDA. 

